helena Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 doctor, extreme skier, loves nature and science, history, and fly fishes.:) It's my step-dads birthday this week and I like getting a couple good books every year along with his gifts. I've done the contemporary scientists type books and last year I found some nice memoirs on different naturalists at 'Acorn Naturalists'. I was thinking of something historical on Mexico.. I know a lot of you are serious book lovers, can anyone make a recommendation? I think he loves chemistry, are there any intriguing memoirs or biographies out there on that? :tongue_smilie: thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Viscosity+of+Honey+Ingram&x=0&y=0 This was a really interesting read. Also - I don't know his sense of humor but many fisherman like http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Patrick+McManus+Fine+and+Pleasant+Misery&x=0&y=0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Has he read Into Thin Air (very good)? Not quite the categories you've mentioned, but would these be of interest...? Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley & Livingstone (very good) The Lost City of Z (quite good, though not as good as the previous two, imo) I haven't read it, but my dh & fil both highly recommended A Short History of Nearly Everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cera Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 It isn't really on topic but I found "Tuxedo Park" really interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Pat Mcmanus is a great comedian/author for outdoorsmen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood by Oliver Sacks is excellent! Atoms in the Family: My Life with Enrico Fermi by Laura Fermi Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach Don't Let the Goats Eat the Loquat Trees; On the Far Side of Liglig Mountain, and Living Stones of hte Himalayas by Thomas Hale (interesting and humorous read about a missionary doctor family in Nepal) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Has he read Into Thin Air (very good)? Not quite the categories you've mentioned, but would these be of interest...? I second this one! I was about to reccomend it myself. One more great adventure read would be Barrow's Boys. Check out the description on Amazon. It's a fantastic read about British exploration in the 1800's. A good companion book for that or an excellent choice on it's own is The Arctic Grail by Pierre Berton which covers North Poles and NW Passage explorers of the same period. Any of those titles would give him something thrilling and get away just a bit from what you usually give him.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Bear Grylls, the host of Man Versus Wild, has an autobiography out about climbing Everest when he was 23. My husband is enjoying it. Unlike Into Thin Air, people mostly survived his climb. Into Thin Air is also very good, though tragic, but it has been very popular for a long time, and if he is a reader, there is a good chance he has read it. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in OH Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Your dad sounds like an interesting guy! Here are two books that I think are great: The Long Walk, Slavomir Rawicz. Amazon review:Cavalry officer Slavomir Rawicz was captured by the Red Army in 1939 during the German-Soviet partition of Poland and was sent to the Siberian Gulag along with other captive Poles, Finns, Ukranians, Czechs, Greeks, and even a few English, French, and American unfortunates who had been caught up in the fighting. A year later, he and six comrades from various countries escaped from a labor camp in Yakutsk and made their way, on foot, thousands of miles south to British India, where Rawicz reenlisted in the Polish army and fought against the Germans. The Long Walk recounts that adventure, which is surely one of the most curious treks in history. http://www.amazon.com/Long-Walk-True-Story-Freedom/dp/1592289444/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262696694&sr=8-1 This guy's story is amazing, and it's the one by which I now measure a person's complaints of outdoor hardships and roughing it. :001_smile: This book is off the beaten path, so he probably hasn't read it. Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortensen. Mortensen was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his work in building girls' schools in Pakistan. He's just an ordinary guy who fell into this "mission" when he was on a failed attempt to climb K2 in the Himilayas. The book contains great descriptions of the rugged terrain of Pakistan and village life in the mountains, puts a human face on a country that is so newsworthy today, and shows how a real person with deep convictions can make a difference. I had the privilege of hearing Mortensen speak this past fall, and I'd recommend this book to anyone. It's a particularly good read for someone who likes biographies of people with exceptional character and current events. Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 The Long Walk, I'll second this one--it's a really good read, and not really well known. Also very good is The Lost Men: The Harrowing Saga of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party by Kelly-Taylor Lewis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted January 5, 2010 Author Share Posted January 5, 2010 Thanks everyone for your replies! I'm off to Amazon, thank goodness for overnight shipping :) What is the cut off time for over night shipping, 3ish? Anymore recs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 One more! Fields and Pastures New: My First Year as a Country Vet by John McCormick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Winterdance by Gary Paulsen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalieclare Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 My mom loves nature and science and asked for this book for Christmas: The Collector by Jack Nisbet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 second Jean's recommendation. Patrick McManus is funny, especially if you like camping/hunting/fishing/outdoors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 "The Doctors Mayo" was a book my husband read years ago at the recomendation of his anethestist just before he went under for back surgery. Even in his foggy state while recovering, he does recall it was an amazing book. http://www.amazon.com/Doctors-Mayo-Helen-Clapesattle/dp/5555502826 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuniMom Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 How about Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. It's an excellent book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 Well now I'm not going to see the birthday boy until Tuesday, so that gives me more time to shop. I'm thinking his whole gift will be based around books. Maybe a reading light, some snacks, a stack of books, maybe some firewood? :). Any other suggestions? Here are a few medical type books, I might get one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Discovery-Insulin-Twenty-fifth-Anniversary/dp/0226058999/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262756323&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Benefit-Mankind-Medical-Humanity/dp/0393319806/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262756458&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/Blessed-Days-Anaesthesia-anaesthetics-changed/dp/0192805894/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262756498&sr=1-1 thanks again for all of your help! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi @ Mt Hope Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortensen. Mortensen was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his work in building girls' schools in Pakistan. He's just an ordinary guy who fell into this "mission" when he was on a failed attempt to climb K2 in the Himilayas. The book contains great descriptions of the rugged terrain of Pakistan and village life in the mountains, puts a human face on a country that is so newsworthy today, and shows how a real person with deep convictions can make a difference. I had the privilege of hearing Mortensen speak this past fall, and I'd recommend this book to anyone. It's a particularly good read for someone who likes biographies of people with exceptional character and current events. Beth I'll second the Three Cups of Tea recommendation, and add A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. Humor, nature, history, hiking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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